


Strawberry

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Attends Shujin Academy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Humor, Goro is oblivious af, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 07:57:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20926796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Goro Akechi has been crushing on Akira Kurusu for months now. Ann decides it's time for drastic steps.





	Strawberry

**Author's Note:**

> This story if for [Alex](https://twitter.com/maruitenshi).
> 
> If you like my stories, you can find me on twitter [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings) and/or tumblr at [mikan_writings](https://mikan-writings.tumblr.com/)!

Goro sighed in exasperation. He was trying to focus on his homework but the task proved more and more difficult until finally the brunet closed his eyes and leaned back on his seat. He turned and looked at the girl who’s been staring at him pointedly for the last ten minutes. Ann continued looking at him, frowning, completely unabashed by Goro’s glare. Finally, he gave up non-verbal communication and shifted on his seat, grimacing at her.

“Can you stop staring? It’s distracting.”

Ann didn’t reply. She simply shook her head and continued to drag her eyes over his face. Goro rolled his eyes and pointedly turned his back at her, trying to focus on his homework once more. Ann was his best friend in this cesspool of a school and his rock of normalcy to rely on, but sometimes… well, sometimes Goro really wondered why he put up with the girl’s shenanigans.

He sighed and picked up his pencil, pondering over the problem he was about to solve. Ah, yes; if he took the _ a _from here and applied the given formula to the rest of the equation, he could then—

Ann patted him sharply on the shoulder and Goro’s pencil turned the neat row of numbers into a jumbled mess. He stared at the crossed-through equation before glaring to the side at his friend, only to blink when…

…a stick of unopened, strawberry-flavoured lip balm has been pushed into his face.

“Here. Use it. At this point, that’s your only chance.”

Goro stared along the arm currently holding the balm in front of him and into Ann’s grinning face. Hesitantly, he took it, weighing it in his hand. His brown quirked.

“Ann, what are you—”

“It’s been almost a year, Goro.” Ann rolled her eyes, leaning back on her chair. “You’re graduating in a few months. Are you going to ask Akira out or not?”

Immediately, the temperature in the room seemed to rise. Goro coughed, trying to loosen the turtleneck wrapped suddenly too tight around his throat. Ann giggled.

He could probably strangle her right now.

“I—I have no idea what you—”

“Oh, spare me. I had to watch you two pining idiots for months now. So, I’m gonna help. Like I said, use it.”

Goro opened his mouth to argue. Goro closed his mouth upon finding no valid arguments. Instead, he stared down at the innocent lip balm stick that suddenly didn’t look all that innocent. Ann surely wouldn’t give him anything… _ unusual _, would she? Still…

“…and how is _ that _going to help?” he asked. Ann shrugged with a carefree smile on her lips.

“Just use it in front of Akira next time you go out on one of your totally-not-dates,” she said, picking up her own notebook and looking through it without interest. “Trust me.”

“It… it _ is _just ordinary lip balm, right?” Goro’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Ann giggled again.

“Yeah. Strawberry flavoured. _ Trust me _, Goro. It’ll work wonders, promise.”

Goro called bullshit on that statement. He was definitely not believing that an ordinary stick of lip balm, whatever flavour it was going to be, would help him score an actual romantic date with Akira Kurusu, also known as the prettiest, cutest, kindest boy in the whole school. They’ve been friends for most of the year, ever since Akira transferred to Shujin and ended up in the same class as Ann, but Goro’s growing crush on him has been, until now, unsuccessful.

Goro’s hand closed around the lip balm stick. He was about to throw it into his school bag, but he hesitated, slipping it into his pocket instead.

He didn’t believe something like that would do anything. Surely, simply putting on lip balm wouldn’t suddenly make Akira fall for him. But then… Ann was rarely wrong about this sort of thing.

It… wouldn’t hurt to try, if an occasion presented itself. And the chilly, late-autumn air didn’t exactly treat his lips kindly, did it? So he could kind of… use the balm from time to time, for protection against the wind. And if Akira happened to be there while he did so…

Well, in the end, where was the harm in that…?

* * *

“Here, we can share my umbrella, we’ll just need to squeeze a little.”

Akira’s smile was bright, like it tended to be whenever he and Goro went out somewhere after school, just the two of them. Goro tried hard not to overthink these _ totally-not-dates _ , as Ann had called them. It was normal to go out somewhere with your friend. Goro knew Akira was often busy in the afternoons, meeting up with one of the many acquaintances he made during his stay in Tokyo. He was definitely not jealous of any of those people. After all, as far as he knew, Akira never took _ them _ out for the movies and crepes while insisting to pay for the tickets as a _ special treat _.

_ Special _ . It wasn’t too much of a stretch to think Goro was _ special _there, then. Right?

“Oh… of course. If you don’t mind, then…” he murmured, sneaking under Akira’s open umbrella and hugging his bag to himself. Akira smiled at him again and wrapped an arm gently around Goro’s waist, warm and careful and absolutely _ perfect _ against his skin.

Goro shook his head lightly, feeling the blush rise up his cheeks. No, no, no, this was because of the rain. Goro ‘forgot’ his umbrella at home, despite the forecast warning about certain rain in the afternoon. Akira was simply being kind and making sure they could walk comfortably under his own. That was all there was to it.

“Okay?” Akira asked from somewhere entirely too close to Goro’s ear. The brunet swallowed and nodded, opting against speaking at quite this moment. Akira flashed him another smile, quick as lightning, and started to lead them towards the movie theatre.

It was as they were waiting in line for their tickets that Goro remembered the lip balm Ann had given him. He was trying to fight off the disappointment he felt when Akira let go of him the moment they got out of the rain and put his hands in his pockets while at it, his fingers bumping against the lip balm. After only a moment’s hesitation, he pulled it out of his pocket and applied it, peering over to see if Akira had noticed the action.

He thought, for just a split second, he’s caught Akira staring, dumbfounded, at his lips. Then it was suddenly their turn by the ticket gate and the spell was broken. By the time they entered the cinema lobby area and Akira laughed, asking him what kind of popcorn he’d like to get, Goro decided he was imagining things.

He slid the lip balm stick back into his pocket, just in case.

* * *

The movie was good – all Feathermen movies were good in Goro’s opinion, but this one would probably be good even if he wasn’t a fanboy. There was also an added bonus to the already enjoyable screening. A few times during the movie, his and Akira’s hands bumped into one another in search of popcorn or drinks. Once, when Goro opted on setting the popcorn on his lap for easier access, Akira’s hand rested on his knee. It lasted only a second before the raven pulled his hand away, muttering apologies and citing the darkness and bad aim as the reason why his hand strayed. Goro wasn’t sure he believed this, but he was also trying very hard to ignore a part of him longing for Akira’s hand to remain where it was, so in the end, he didn’t react in any way apart from handing Akira the desired popcorn.

All in all, he thought as they exited the movie theatre, chatting excitedly about the movie, it was a nice outing. And it wasn’t over yet.

Akira waited for him as he dashed to the bathroom, careful to wash his face and hands and refresh his makeup. The stick of lip balm appeared in his hand again. Goro frowned and then shrugged lightly. He was still carefully applying it as he walked out of the bathroom and towards Akira, who seemed to flush at the sight of him. This time Goro definitely caught Akira’s eyes flickering over to Goro’s lips again and again, until he finally had mercy and hid the balm in his pocket once more. With a rather sweet smile on his face, Goro motioned towards the exit to the theatre – outside, the rain had regrettably stopped.

“Shall we?”

* * *

They went for the crepes next and as they walked, Akira seemed to regain his composure enough for Goro to once more question the lip balm’s supposed magic qualities. The crepes were good – Akira gave him all the strawberries from his one, even after Goro heatedly protested such generosity. Sadly, the sweet treats didn’t last very long. Soon, the two of them were left with empty hands and their plans for the evening finished. Akira smiled at him sheepishly and pointed towards the station while his other hand disappeared in his unruly hair, messing them up even more.

“Do you—I mean, is it okay if I walk you home?”

Goro stared.

_ Walk home _ … _ that’s a date thing, right? That’s what dates end in. Walking your date home… _

_ Then again, I do live in rather secluded neighbourhood. Perhaps he just feels bad for keeping me out so late. _

_ At any rate _…

“S-sure,” Goro murmured, hating himself for the little stutter. Akira beamed at him.

In all fairness, Goro’s apartment wasn’t very far away. Honestly, Goro wished it was. Akira was a good company. He laughed and talked and listened to everything Goro had to say, his retorts always sharp and intriguing, his point of view always incredibly entertaining to discuss. Above all else, it was _ easy _to talk to him – Akira made you want to tell him about anything and everything you fancied, and he never made you feel silly for discussing any topic that came to mind. Goro could be telling him about the philosophers of old or about the most outrageous Feathermen lore theories, and Akira would listen with just as much attention.

In a world where, were his interest not tailored perfectly to the listener’s ears, Goro was used to being completely ignored… it was a breath of fresh air. An oasis; a comfortable, safe place to come back to.

A home.

Goro flushed, just as his eyes looked up and noticed the very door to his apartment. When did they even get there? He wished the way would have lasted a lot longer. He felt Akira’s warm side press lightly against him before moving away. Without thinking, Goro pulled out the lip balm and applied it over his lips again, the pleasant scent of strawberries filling his nostrils. He heard Akira make a sound and turned his head to look at him in surprise, eyes only growing bigger when he noticed how much the raven was blushing.

Akira flushed even more when he saw Goro noticed him staring – though this time, he didn’t look away or step back. Instead, the raven cleared his throat and pointed at the lip balm.

“That’s… that’s new, isn’t it?”

“Wha—oh, yes.” Goro nodded, feeling a little bit flustered. He capped the lip balm stick and put it back in his pocket, looking away. He saw Akira shift his weight from one leg to the other before he spoke again.

“It’s… what flavour is it?” he asked. Goro looked up at him. Words escaped him before he could overthink – or _ think _at all, really.

“…why don’t you take a guess?”

It was as if Akira was waiting for something like that this whole evening. The next thing Goro knew, the lips he’s been dreaming about for months now pressed gently against his own. It was soft and careful, and very brief; the next moment, Akira was pulling away, looking thoughtful.

“Oh… it’s strawberry, isn’t it?”

Goro stood where he was, rooted to the spot. He could feel the blush start somewhere around his chest, marching in the tides of pink over his neck, face and ears. He could practically _ feel _ a cloud of steam hovering over his head from all the condensed embarrassment and sheer giddiness he felt. Akira looked at him sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck again. Goro saw him open his mouth and knew, he just _ knew _that if he’ll let Akira speak right now, the bit of magic between them will disappear. So, instead of letting him talk, he grabbed Akira’s shirt and pulled him close.

“…do that again,” he said. Akira stared at him and then grinned. It was a slow, lazy grin; one that stretched onto his whole face and made Goro’s insides turn into mush.

“…happily,” Akira whispered back, cupping his cheek gently. “I’m not _ completely _certain it was strawberry, after all.”


End file.
